BIG QUESTIONS, part 6: the collapse of empire and the successor states

These will help you as you go through your reading and attend lecture. Don't panic: we are just about to cover this material. As we do, try to organize your reading, lecture, and the problem-oriented part of your minds on the following:

--What accounted for the collapse of the empire? What social, political, religious, and cultural factors can you discern in its demise? To what extent did the geography of the region shape the prospects for survival of this and previous empires?

--Why did the majority of Middle Eastern peoples convert to Islam only following the collapse of the empire that had hitherto sustained it?

--How did the Caliphate, finding itself at the nadir of its influence and power, recast itself into a religious institution and the principal source of legitimacy for many of the successor states?

--Why did the successor states experience both an economic revival and a cultural efflorescence following the political collapse of the empire?

I'll add some more questions once we're on the verge of discussion them. Again, you don't know the answers yet, but at least you've got some of the questions.